IN CONVERSATION
with Diesel Project Space
22 June 2017

 

Series of conversations with curators and guests in and around of Cologne about currents projects and questions towards contemporary art, invited by Mélange, Cologne

Q: Xavier, you run the project space Diesel, which is located in a former gas station nearby Liège. Can you tell us about this specific location, which is now an exhibition space?
A: The area has basically been boarded up for the past 17 years. As a symbol of the petrol age, now invaded by plants and wildlife, the space becomes somewhat of a post-nature environment. Between the utopia of a "low carbon future" and "theories of catastrophism". Together with curator Noémie Merca, I try to give the space to artists that are able to reveal and exploit this post-apocalyptic environment. In addition, we organized some performances. Between the heritage of rave parties and unclassified forms of electronic music, kind of like the last songs of the Titanic Orchestra. The project will end when the fuel station will be destroyed.

Diesel Project Space was founded in 2016 by the artist Xavier Mary and the curator Noémie Merca. Diesel was invited by Mélange on the occasion of the upcoming exhibition by Xavier Mary and Eva L'Hoest. Mélange is an exhibition space in Cologne, run since 2015 by Patrick C. Haas and Jonas Schenk.

Funding and Support
Cultural Office of the City of Cologne

Images
Diesel Project Space, 2016